Stardom
by Chan-Ban
Summary: The Gorillaz Search for a Star competition has finally yielded results: 'Just Are', a band made up of wierd little musical misfits. Now, Just Are must go out into the world and make sweet music! Rated T for Murds mouth
1. Just Are

((Okay, I can't very well write British accents with the greatest ease, so until I get a real feel for the characters, just insert the accents where necessary. I've been trying to speak with a British accent so I can get a feel for it. I'm trying though. So maybe it'll be better before you know it! I've never written with accents before, so you'll have to bear with me okay guys? Thanks a mill. – 2-D Channy))

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Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Gorillaz, the Search for a Star contest or Kong Studios. They are the property of their creators and I gain no royalties from this so please don't sue me. I'm just a silly fan-girl who writes fan-fiction, I'm not even a legal adult. Again, I do not own the Gorillaz, Search for a Star or Kong Studios…Thank God.

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Ha! I have started another fan-fic! O.o Be very, very afraid. Yes, I hope you people have seen the Search for a Star contest on other wise this will make little to no sense. If you haven't gone to see it, go and listen to the Gorillaz comments. They are TOO funny. They make me smile P There's not a lot of Gorillaz fics out there so I thought 'Well, let's add one more to the roster' o.- Anyways….moo.

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"Come on, we're gonna be late!"

Crowds of people moved out of the way, be it by their own free will or not, as four teenagers ran through the busy London streets. All four teenagers carried instruments, amps and the like. All of them were out of breath and their faces were flushed as they continued their trek.

At the head of the group, was a girl with blonde hair and a dead eye. Not dead as in unfocused, or uncaring, not too light nor too dark. Black. An accident had damaged the eye and it appeared black, like a gaping hole in her face. Her other eye, she kept covered with her blonde hair. She was a rather average looking girl, but also kind of eerie at the same time. Most people blamed it on her eye. No one really knew if her other eye was like that, she never gave people the opportunity to see it. Her limbs were long, and she looked almost gangly and disproportionate as she carried the keyboard on her back in its sling. As she scurried past, people snickered that she weighed as much as the keyboard. She was a terribly small thing after all. She always had been. She blamed an overactive metabolism because she ate most of the time but never gained an ounce. On the other hand, Rice cakes don't exactly add much body weight to a person.

Following her was another thin lanky girl with pink bangs and lengthy black hair. Her ruddy eyes were hidden mostly under her pink bangs, giving her a fierce appearance; like she was always mad. She was a little more solidly built than the girl with the keyboard, the outline of an almost athletic appearance showing through her black clothing. She carried a bass in its case at her side and a cigarette in her mouth. She was almost sneering with agitation, her fang-like teeth frightening many of the people with weaker constitutions. People refused to comment on her though, afraid that she might make them meet the small amp she carried in her left hand personally.

Behind this girl, another one, slightly smaller in stature, with purple hair that faded to black at the tips followed. She had a set of drumsticks in her pocket, a bass drum on her back and a snare in her arms. Her hair was short, barely brushing her shoulders as she jogged down the busy thoroughfare behind the first two girls. Some people snickered and some protested as the girl walked past, smacking some people with the large bass drum strapped to her back. She had on headsets and didn't hear the rude comments made at her. She stopped a moment, and waited for the last member of their crew.

Catching up to the drummer girl, a young woman with honey blonde hair smiled. Her eyes were a startling blue and she seemed to be the most normal of the quartet. She carried an electric guitar and an amp in her hands and on her back, she carried a back pack with random cords poking out of it. Her hair was a medium length and she was normal in build. People stared confused as she followed the first three oddities, wondering what she was doing with them. Soon, all four stood in front of the infamous Kong Studios.

"Well mates….here's our chance," The blonde girl with the dead eye said, a soft British accent peppering her voice. She smiled and shifted the weight of her keyboard on her back. Placing a hand on the doorknob, she paused for a moment, and stole a look back at her band mates. All of them (including herself) were flushed and panting, and their eyes shown with a happy anxiety. She grinned back at them and spun back to the door again, turning the knob and opening the door to where their dreams lay.

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Exhausted, annoyed, fed up and fried, the members of Gorillaz stared as one of the unfortunates who failed to appease them walked off of the stage.

"Oh…ass…..fucking hell that was ass," Murdoc said in his gruff voice. (I'll give muffins to anyone who recognizes that .) He gnawed at the end of his cigarette and drummed his fingers on the table agitatedly. Noodle had her head resting on the table in front of her, muttering in Japanese as she did so. She held a pen in her hand and the pad on which she was supposed to write her comments was covered in doodles and the random note was jotted down here and there. Most of the notes weren't good. Russel had his head resting on one of his big hands and he seemed a little tired. His blank, white eyes were half closed and he scribbled down another note on the last person they had seen. He was probably the only one who was keeping accurate notes on the contestants in their 'Search for a Star' contest. A few more names were on the list; ten to be exact. Around four of the names were small marks to indicate they were to perform as a whole. Most of the members seemed to be awake or half asleep. 2-D on the other hand, seemed comatose. His body looked completely limp and his head was lent back against the chair, his mouth was slightly open. He'd make small almost snoring noises as he laid there and his white bucket hat was pulled down over his eyes. Russel finished recording his note and looked over to the vocalist.

"Hey D, you still with us man?" He asked, nudging 2-D in the shoulder. The front man closed his mouth and it twisted in a grimace. He lifted his hand up and batted away Russel's.

"Shut your gob, I'm awake," 2-D verified. He sat up and rubbed his neck while fixing his hat. He put his elbows on the table and held his head up.

"I've just got one hell of a migraine. Can we go home yet? This is really boooooring," 2-D asked, stretching the last word to let Russel know how bored he truly was. 2-D began rubbing his temples.

"Not yet D. We've still got seven more acts to see," Russel said looking at the preview sheet for the day. 2-D groaned and looked down at the list. He paused for a second. His migraine couldn't be that bad…maybe he heard Russel wrong.

"How many again mate?"2-D asked, fishing out his bag of multi-coloured pills and popping two blue and red ones into his mouth.

"Seven," Russel repeated as 2-D took a swig of water. 2-D almost spit his water back into its glass. He grabbed the list and blinked his black eyes a few times.

"Did I miss somefink?" 2-D asked bewildered. The excitement woke Noodle and she looked up at the confused, blue haired man and muttered to herself. 2-D looked down to Noodle and almost absent mindedly said, "Sorry Noodle, love." He turned back to Russel and waited for an answer.

"Naw, man. Four of them are performing as a whole. A group ya know," Russel corrected.

"Oh," was all that 2-D had to say. He calmed down immensely and tilted his head back again. His hand pulled the white bucket hat back down over his eyes.

"Do we know the band's name?" He asked. Russel shook his head 'no' and Murdoc gave one of his odd grumbles.

"Wankers," Murdoc said. 2-D looked at him for a moment, lifting up the brim of his hat.

"Are you serious?" He asked. Murdoc simply gave a dark laugh and said no more. 2-D stared a little longer dumbfounded. After a few minutes, he waved it off as one of Murdoc's jokes that were lost on everyone except for Murdoc. 2-D pulled down the brim of his hat again and waved his hand.

"Next!"

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The blonde haired girl looked up at the ceiling with her black eye, her fingers unconsciously going over the fingerings on the keys of her keyboard which was spread across her lap. She seemed devoid of consciousness as she stared at the ceiling. Inside, she was counting the seconds until they could perform for probably one of their collectively favorite bands. The girl with the black hair and pink bangs watched her for a moment.

"Oi…Sarah?" She said looking down at her nails and chipping off more of the dark purple nail polish that was already mostly gone on them. The blonde girl reacted to her name and her attention was drawn away from the ceiling to the almost pink haired girl.

"What do you want you todger?" She asked in her slightly accented voice. The girl with the pink bangs looked up with her reddish eyes and scoffed.

"I was just making sure you were still with us mate. You looked lost," she said, returning her eyes to her fingernails.

"Oh," she managed before returning her gaze back to the ceiling, "Thanks Meg." The other two girls watched silently for a moment then turned to one another.

"Sandi I think they've lost it," the girl with the purple and black hair commented, twirling a green pick over in her hands. Sandi smiled at the guitarist and nodded.

"Kirishi, I think you're right," she said, untangling the great black mass of cords in her lap. She was on the last knot now, just two amp cords left to untangle and they'd be fine when their audition came.

How many people left before it was their turn? There had been six acts in front of them when they arrived…and they'd been here for what felt like a small eternity. Sarah looked around the room. Two, there were two more people in front of them. Correction: one person was left. Another dejected soul walked out of the audition room and another person was called in. As the group of girls watched the next contestant go in, all of their stomachs lurched and they returned their attentions to tuning their instruments and going over last minute preparations. The only one that seemed remotely calm was Meg. She sat there just picking the nail polish on her fingernails and muttering things about Gorillaz famed bassist, Murdoc. Occasionally, Sarah would look over to her kind of annoyed and then go back to running over the keys on her keyboard. After a few minutes, the contestant walked out gloomily and the last one before their turn went in. All four of them stared at the door for a long time, and then they all gathered up their things. They all loitered about the door until they heard shouting.

"What do you mean no good?" The person who had gone in last looked like a Barbie doll clone all decked out in pink…fluffy…stuff.

"I mean you're rancid and possibly mentally ill" All four girls recognized that voice - Murdoc.

"What?" - The Barbie doll wannabe.

"I think it was pretty clear what he said. Yo cracka ass is no good" - The drummer, Russel

"Yeah, that was the weirdest thing think I have ever seen" - Sarah's heart skipped a beat at this one, it was 2-D.

"You no good," - that cute voice could only be Noodle.

All four girls backed away from the doors as they heard the clip-clap of an angry drama queen approaching.

"Well you know what! You're all absolutely terrible! I wouldn't pay you to do a show! And I wouldn't pay anyone to see it either! I hope you all burn in puss spewing blood gutted hell!" The diva screamed as she barged out of the audition room, slamming both doors open, then clip-clapping her way to the entrance of Kong Studios. She gave one last prissy 'humph' and barged out of the lobby, still degrading the name of Gorillaz and all who actually listened to their music. The four girls stared in disgusted wonderment at the pink posh prissy princess. All four turned their attention to the secretary who smiled warmly…for a demon is was a warm smile anyways.

"Go on in," is said in a squeaky voice. The girls paused for a second and then they turned to the door when they heard 2-D shout, "Next!" The girls looked at one another and told each other to 'break a leg' and Sarah put her hand on the door and pushed it open.

It was a big, bare room that was brightly lit. The four girls walked out into the room and all of their hearts skipped a beat when they saw the four band members sitting there. All of them looked distressed, bored and a little agitated from their last pitiable contender. All four girls took a collective gulp and began setting up their equipment.

"Ohhh, look at the little ragamuffins," Murdoc said twirling an unlit cigarette in his fingers. Meg looked up and caught his eyes with her own and he gave a low growl.

"You want to sample a portion of this?" he asked then trailed it with an odd laugh. Meg looked up at him again and scoffed.

"And if I did?" She shot back at him. Sarah rolled her eyes. She KNEW that Meg did, but she continued setting up her key board. Murdoc again trailed off with one of his odd laughs and slunk down into his seat. 2-D again looked comatose. Noodle watched everything with interested eyes. Russel seemed to be drawing evil stick figures next to the previous name on the list. Soon all four girls were set up and they stood there for a moment waiting. All four Gorillaz members seemed to have lost their enthusiasm. The girls stood there for a moment and then Sarah cleared her throat. The first one to look up was 2-D.

"What? Play, amuse us. Go on, go on," he said. The other members were revived while he talked. Sarah stood there mouth agape. She lost a lot of respect for 2-D at that moment.

"We're not here to amuse you. We're doing this for us," she said. She looked to her other band members and nodded. Kirishi started up with the drums and then Meg began with the bass line. They were playing 'Tomorrow Comes Today'. Sarah had her keyboard to the side and hit the notes without even looking at it. Sarah began the vocals. 2-D sat there almost amazed. Her voice was chillingly haunting and yet pleasant all at once. All of their movements seemed to link up to create a sound more ethereal than theirs, but it still held the originality of the song. When they finished, all eight people in the room seemed to come out of a trance. The girls sat there in silence and waited for a response.

"You know I actually liked that?" Murdoc said. The four girls all smiled. Hard ass Murdoc liked what they did with one of their songs? Amazing! Next, four sets of eyes turned to Russel.

"Man that was….that was unlike anything I have EVER seen before…in my whole damn life."

2-D still looked a little too dumbfounded to say anything so they skipped over him and turned to Noodle who was teeming with excitement.

"You are amazing! You take music and make it alive with new soul," she said quickly. At the end a random stream of Japanese followed. Then, it was the deciding moment. All eyes were on 2-D. Everyone was totally silent and still for a few moments. Suddenly, 2-D stood up, his chair clattering to the floor. His black eyes were wide with excitement and he was flailing about like a monkey on acid.

"Yeah! Yeah! Sign this one! Sign this one! Sign this—they're brilliant! Sign this—yeah! Yeah I like them! Murdoc did ya see that? Ya see that?" 2-D shouted. The four girls stood there amazed.

"Did….did you just say….sign us?" Kirishi asked amazed holding out one of her drumsticks. Sandi's pick dropped with a clink to the ground and Meg let her bass hang by the strap from her neck. Sarah walked forward and was right to the edge of the table.

"You mean it?" she asked excitedly. 2-D met her black eye with his two and smiled.

"Yes! Get the manager of the phone we've found our band!" 2-D yelled at Murdoc. Murdoc growled at him and pulled out a cell phone. Hollers went out from the rest of the girls and Sarah stood there with a look of shock on her face. Noodle and Russel stood up to talk with one another about how glad they were that the search was over. Underneath the hubbub, 2-D smiled at Sarah and leaned over and talked out the few details with her.

"So what's your bands name?" 2-D asked her. Sarah blinked and then stuttered over a few words for a moment.

"We uhh….We-we-we-we-we-we don't have a name. We just are," Sarah said and gave 2-D a rather goofy smile. 2-D laughed and patted her on the shoulder.

"Then how do you like the name 'Just Are'? I think that name fits you lot well," 2-D laughed out. Sarah chuckled for a second and turned around. She threw her arms out to get her band mates attention.

"Oi Mates! 'Just Are'? You lot like that name?" she asked. The girls nodded in agreement and made sounds of approval. Sarah smiled and turned back to the fellow vocalist.

"Yeah! That's out name. Just Are! We Just Are!" She said happily, giving 2-D another one of her famous goofy smiles and laughed a little bit. 2-D laughed again and walked around the table. He threw his arm around Sarah's shoulders and brought her in close.

"And what is your real names mate?" 2-D asked. Sarah again stuttered over her words for a moment and then she eventually got it right.

"I'm Sarah, the front woman. Meg's the bassist, Kirishi is the drummer and Sandi is the guitarist," she said. There was something about being so close to one of her two idols and having them ask about her band, it was exhilarating. She found herself giving her goofy smile more than normal.

"Charming smile by the way, a good smile will get you far or somefink like that," 2-D had said laughingly, knowing his smile wasn't one of the best. Sarah nodded and laughed.

Gorillaz and Just Are stayed at Kong studio for most of the night. Signing and initialing papers, giving raw samples of their talents with each of the Gorillaz members, just to see what they had to work with. After a few hours, the members of Just Are met up outside of Kong studios. The three younger girls all stared at the oldest, Meg, as she walked outside who looked a little different than when she entered. Sarah rolled her eyes. The trading of bass lines her ass. Sarah knew what went on behind closed doors when two randy bass players where together. Sarah was afraid that she was the only one who knew what had just happened, but if she wasn't she prayed that at least the younglings, Noodle and Kirishi, didn't catch on. Sarah rolled her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. Soon, all four girls stood by themselves outside of Kong studios. The night air of London seemed warm and inviting. Sarah realized she had not gotten her chance to scream tonight. She threw her arms wide and turned her face upward.

"Yes!" She screamed. She spun around once and then stopped looking at Kong Studios. She smiled large and then screamed at the top of her lungs, unsure if anyone inside could hear her, "Thank you!" She laughed and another one of her goofy smiles was plastered to her face. Kirishi came up in front of her and looked her in the eyes.

"Sarah, you alright?" she asked the tall blonde with the black eye. Sarah nodded and turned about face, walking down the sidewalk. It was a victory trot if ever there was one.

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Hmm, what will happen to our group of musicians now? Will they fall through the cracks into the rank of a mediocrity? Ir will they rise to rock stardom. Well...if they fell through the cracks this wouldn't be much of a story would it? Lol, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! - Please Please R&R and I'll love you forever!


	2. Black Eyes

((I'm working on the British accents, Keep bearing with me guys. ))

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Gorillaz, the Search for a Star contest or Kong Studios. They are the property of their creators and I gain no royalties from this so please don't sue me. I'm just a silly fan-girl who writes fan-fiction, I'm not even a legal adult. Again, I do not own the Gorillaz, Search for a Star or Kong Studios…Thank God.

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Yay! Another Chapter! - Go me! Anyways, yeah, I thought I'd try to get another chapter in as soon as I possibly could. I might actually get more than one chapter in on this fic. Ha-ha! Anyways, Thank you kittygirltheanimefreak for the first review and yup! That is one of Murdoc's lines in the Search for a Star contest! gives kittygirltheanimefreak muffins glee I also thank Danakagome, fat batch (),Tomorrow-Comes-Today, Gijinka Renamon, Karynia, DA Jersey Devil and WhoDidn'tKillBambi for the reviews too! …ah what the heck! Gives everybody muffins I love you people o.o

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The ceiling. It was the same beige ceiling Sarah had stared at every morning since she was fifteen. This morning though, it seemed like a new ceiling. Light barely squeezed in through her blinds and the tick tock of the many clocks on her walls created the sort of surreal atmosphere she needed. Instead of looking to one of the clocks on her wall, Sarah picked up a small digital watch lying on the floor near her bed. 10 A.M. She sat up and pulled her blanket up around her, looking around her room. It was plastered with Gackt, Gorillaz, and anime posters. She smiled at them. These posters had heard her struggling with the keyboard; they had heard her test out lyrics with music; they had guarded her when her muse occasionally ran away.

Sarah stood up and walked over to her stereo, pushing the power button and then play. The intro to the Demon Days album began playing and she threw her blanket back to her bed. She bobbed her head to the music a little bit and danced over to her closet. She threw open the wooden doors and grabbed out a blue-grey shirt trimmed with grey and the black number fifty-three on the front. She threw the shirt to her bed to join her blanket and began digging through the shelves in her closet for some pants. She pulled out a dark pair of blue jeans with white pleather stitched across the knees. She looked at them for a second then back to the shirt on her bed.

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Sarah sat in the lobby for what seemed like an eternity. She was alone and was reading the newspaper for the twenty-third time. She had gotten to the horoscopes again. Again she read the horoscope for Cancer.

"'Today is the day of fortune! You will realize your destiny with the help of people in high places.' Duh!" she recited and commented. She looked up as Kirishi walked in through the double doors. She smiled and waved to her friend. Kirishi came over smiling.

"Good morning!" Kirishi said, and she sat down next to Sarah.

"Mornin' mate," Sarah said handing the news paper to Kirishi, "I've read it more times than I'd care to count."

Kirishi laughed and took the newspaper from Sarah. Sarah stood up and stretched her legs. Sandi and Meg had already arrived and had gone off with their respective Gorillaz counter parts. She looked back to Kirishi and from the pocket of her friends skirt she saw a photo. Sarah smiled; she knew what the photo was. It was a picture of Kirishi's boyfriend Yuji. Kirishi always carried that picture with her. Sarah strolled back to her friend and sat down, sliding the picture out of Kirishi's pocket. Sarah looked at it. The boy in the picture had on a spiked collar and looked a like he was feeling ill. He also looked like he hadn't slept in well over a month. The corners of the picture were curling and there were a few creases and pieces missing out of it. Sarah smiled and put the picture in front of Kirishi's face.

"You were starting to lose this," she said suppressing a chuckle. Kirishi flushed and grabbed the picture, shoving it in her other pocket. She muttered a few things in German and then went back to reading the paper. Sarah closed her black eyes and listened to the clock on the far wall tick. She opened her eyes when Sandi came out and grabbed Kirishi by the wrist.

"C'mon, Noodle and Russel wanna jam a little bit," she said dragging Kirishi away. Kirishi dropped the newspaper in the chair and followed the normal looking girl, laughing. Sarah smirked, they still always thought of fun. Sarah and Sandi were the same age, but unlike Sandi who still cared deeply for games of laughter and joy, Sarah could never really fit into the mold. She enjoyed it yes, but she couldn't let herself go like that. She closed her eyes again and listened to the clock tick each second away. Sarah opened her void eyes barely a crack and she stared at the floor absently. No light danced across her features and she tapped her foot to a tune in her head she'd been working on. The clock seemed to further instill the song. She was working on lyrics, and the basic piano score. Time seemed to be a major factor in the song for some reason. She couldn't avoid time, and she couldn't change it at all. She could sure as hell try to figure it out though, and figure it out she would.

She looked up as the doors opened again and she stopped her tapping. 2-D poked his blue plumed head out and looked around. When he caught sight of Sarah, he smiled and called her over. She stood up, pulling her blonde hair into something resembling a ponytail and clipped it against the back of her head. She flashed a poised smile at 2-D and walked over to him. In her unconscious moment of trying to be cool, she subconsciously knew she could never be as such, and tripped on a slight jut from the tile floor. As she fell to the floor, her insane reality slowed to a crawl and the thought 'Oh, great - bloody, effing brilliant!' raced across her mind. Without warning, time decided to resume its normal function and she hit the hard floor with a thunk. She lay there, sprawled on the floor for a minute then cursed under her breath. She lifted herself up and she saw 2-D's hand. She lifted her gaze until she could see his face. He was giving a half smirk and his shoulders were shaking with muffled laughter. Sarah shot him her goofy smile and laughed.

For the first time she looked directly into 2-D's eyes. Odd as it was that they had both suffered the same injury, Sarah wondered if her eyes gave off the same impression his did. It seemed like there was a portal to his world in those eyes. For being black, they were so full of light and laughter that it made her shudder. His eyes were also sensitively cold. She felt some odd pity and remorse for him. They were a lonely pair, she realized. Most people could communicate their thoughts with their eyes, but they had lost that luxury. They were disconnected from expression in a way. She averted her eyes, not that he could tell, and she turned her head away a little bit to show she was off somewhere else. She scoffed a little bit…odd.

"Maybe that's why we've taken to music." She said distantly, taking 2-D's hand. He pulled her up and she bent over, dusting the knees of her pants off and fussing with spots of dust on the dark jean material.

"We can't express ourselves as easily as with just a look because of our eyes being as they are. So, we create our feelings all over again with music. Just so we can express them and fulfill some need that we have," she said, her voice creepily even and low. She straightened up and looked at 2-D, her deep and hollow black eyes laced with pain no one could see. Her facial features were calm, and almost aloof, but her eyes would have betrayed her, had they not lacked the ability to portray the pain deep inside of her small body. 2-D looked at her and smiled understandingly. He visibly shivered for a split second. It was terrifying that he knew the expressions the eyes of a dead man had, just from looking in the mirror day after day. He understood it though, and he knew that she did too. He reached out and wiped some dust off of her nose and turned around smiling, sticking his hands in his pockets with a childlike aristocracy.

"C'mon ya crazy moppet, let's go express ourselves," he said jokingly serious. Sarah cracked a shadow of a smile, but 2-D looked into her empty eyes and understood. They both gave each other the same smile. It was a done deal. They had a secret pact with each other now. Something that went beyond idol and idolater, master and pupil, they were prisoners of the same ironic fate; silent sufferers. Sarah laughed and began to follow him. Her eyes practically screamed to 2-D 'it's unfair that we two artists should have to be handicapped in expression. But we'll be fine and long as we can understand each other.' To everyone else though, it was barely audible above a whisper.

"I guess that we're meant to understand expression better by being unable to," 2-D said, putting Sarah's feelings into words, "like, sitting for a year in silence to understand a whisper better or somefink."

Sarah gave a murmured 'yeah', and continued about a pace and a half behind him. For someone who seemed so ready to shirk rules and play - a dullard as Murdoc would put it - Sarah admired 2-D for saying so easily the words she had choked on inside of herself for years. 'I'm lucky' she thought, and walked down the hallway after 2-D.

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Sarah's hands rested upon the keys of the piano and she stared hard at a half blank piece of sheet music in front of her. Grabbing a pen she had behind her ear for safe keeping, she scribbled in some notes on the paper and looked up to 2-D. He had fallen asleep across the back of the baby grand piano. Sarah snickered and watched as all of her friends who had come to join her attached random things to 2-D. Noodle had stuck about thirty tiny origami cranes in 2-D's blue mop of a head; Kirishi had drawn smiley faces on about ever part of skin that was showing; Meg had balanced a beer bottle on his knee, Murdoc had shoved an old cigarette butt a little ways into his left nostril and Russel was desperately trying to create an origami crane from watching noodle. Sarah mused to herself that the only thin Russel had thus far created, were origami plane wrecks.

She looked down at the keys and smiled, playing a lilting tune on the piano. She became lost in that zone she always created for herself when she composed. Her head swayed side to side a little as she created, and she smiled. This was one of the few times that her eyes expressed emotion that everyone could see. No one ever saw it though. She didn't mind. If they could feel it in the music, that was enough for her. She looked up and her fingers still grazed the keys of the piano like rain droplets. She grabbed the pen again and scribbled down a few notes. She then laid the pen on the top of the piano and looked over the last sheet of music.

"That'll do it," she said quietly. At this, 2-D gave a prodigious snort and woke up muttering something about zombie swans. The cigarette butt fell out of his nose and the beer bottle fell off of him. He looked around and everyone _seemed_ to be acting normal, but 2-D could tell something was up. 2-D quirked his eyebrow and stood up, kicking the beer bottle away and he stretched, heading to the lavatory. Everyone watched him for a moment, and snickered to themselves. They waited a few moments, then, from the direction of the loo, they heard 2-D scream, ""What the bloody hell did you do to me!"

Everyone started laughing in spite of themselves – even Murdoc chuckled a bit. Within a few seconds, 2-D appeared with a terrible frown on his face and a few of the origami paper airplanes still in his hair. Everyone still laughed and then Kirishi piped up, "Put on a happy face!" This only made everyone laugh more because the smiles and grins Kirishi had drawn on him before were still there. 2-D tried to stay angry, but he couldn't. He cracked a smile and then laughed softly. Sarah no longer laughed, but a smile was still painted on her face. She was busy straightening up her sheet music and checking it over before she put it in her portfolio. Noodle walked over to her, still laughing.

"You want go with us?" She asked Sarah, smiling brightly. Sarah looked at her for a moment and then to 2-D. Most of the laughter had died down now, and it was a little obvious that Sarah had no clue what Noodle meant. 2-D caught her eye and laughed understandingly.

"We're all going out boozing kind of. Noodle was asking if you wanted to come along," he explained.

"Oh," Sarah said, "Well, of course! I'd love to go! Is everyone else going?"

"Yeah, you were the last one we had to ask," Sandi said smiling. Sarah smiled back at her and pulled the clip out of her hair, then she scratched her head. She looked out the window.

"Sunset already?" she asked no one in particular. She liked being in Kong studios. The building sat on a hill and you could see so much. She turned back to her friends and nodded her head.

"Then let's have fun tonight. We haven't exactly had a chance to celebrate yet, so this will be perfect," she said.

"Where do you wanna go?" 2-D asked.

"Dancing!" Kirishi exclaimed.

"That's the kind of energy we need! Alright then you lot, dancing it is!" 2-D said and walked out of the room. Everyone he left behind laughed – there were still a few origami cranes stuck in his hair.

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Ok, yes, this chapter was 'special' Haha! I'm sorry it's so short, I hit a rut for a long time, then got out of it then slid back into it. Well, please R&R and I'll get the next chapter up shortly! The story may seem tame now, but watch out! 3 - 2-D Channy


	3. The Gig

((I'm still workin' on those accents. I THINK I'm getting better ;))

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Gorillaz, the Search for a Star contest or Kong Studios. They are the property of their creators and I gain no royalties from this so please don't sue me. I'm just a silly fan-girl who writes fan-fiction, I'm not even a legal adult. Again, I do not own the Gorillaz, Search for a Star or Kong Studios…Thank God.

Put another Chapter down on the old chalk board .. I'm really proud of myself. I've never gotten so much work on a fic done and actually posted! Yay me! Thanks you guys for the reviews, they really keep me going 3 Yay for you guys too! I was looking at the stats of Stardom, and it has 195 hits ! Glee! Almost 200 hundred people have read it. ... . …I've only gotten ten reviews though, but aw what the heck .. I'll take what I can get! Anywho, here's what you came for XP. And oh! If anyone would care to let me know: who the frak is Paula? Is She like…2-D's actual girlfriend… . … . …or just a crazy fan like all of us? Please! The Channy needs to know these things . 

The smoke from Meg's cigarette drifted on the night air as it hung lazily out of her mouth. She tapped her foot impatiently and made a small grunt as she looked up and down the crowded streets. Sarah was late. Sarah was very late, and Meg to say the least was irked. She looked up to the black sky and scowled. It was going to rain soon. Meg snarled slightly and began gnawing on the end of her cigarette,

The skies were unkind to Sarah as she quickly hurried to the club where they were supposed to meet. Rain threatened to pour down upon her at a moment's notice. She dodged between people who didn't know her plight and almost tripped a few times. She had to get to that nightclub. Already, she was preparing for a severe berating from Meg. It wasn't her fault though! She'd have been there by now if the bus hadn't broken down.

She sighed and dodged between a couple. As a result of her dodge she ended up turning to face their backs. The couple linked hands again as if nothing had happened and continued on their blissful way. Sarah's eyes gave off no emotion, but it was there. A sort of wanting was hidden behind their black shells; a needing. She blew it off as nothing though and continued down the sidewalk. She was a weird one she'd admit to herself and to anyone who asked. It was always quite evident. She was tomboyish and a little distant at times. Since her accident she had never been quite right and her love for music was almost inhuman. With all of these odd qualities, how could she admit that she fancied the romantic? It was something so basic, and that registered as a normal teenage emotion it seemed absurd for her to even think it, much less, admit it to other people. Before she knew it, the neon lights of the night club greeted her.

She sighed happily and started towards the door. She fumbled around in her pockets for the pass Murdoc had ungracefully chucked at her head while they were at Kong studios. Suddenly she felt something blunt connect with the back of her head and she tripped, falling forwards a little. Something wrapped around her throat and pulled her back and before Sarah even realized what was happening, out of the corner of her black eyes she saw Meg's pink bang.

"Why in the name of the most gruesome Satanic rituals are you late?" Meg asked Sarah in one of those voices which are reserved for pedophiles and rapists. She visibly shuddered and pulled herself away from Meg's arm around her throat.

"The bus broke down," she said simply. Meg growled and spit her cigarette out of her mouth. She noticed with humor and slight agitation that Sarah had given up her casual and concealing clothing from that morning to more adult and tempting attire. Her blue and white jeans had been replaced with a pair of white ones with blue studs that ran down the side of her long legs. Her blue and gray 54 shirt was now a sleeveless dark blue turtle neck with a white long sleeved fishnet shirt under it. Sarah hummed the song bursting from inside the night club while she tried to find her pass. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but she soon noticed that it was a remix of 19/200. She chuckled quietly to herself. Soon she found the pass, pulled it out with a little cry of joy and walked up to one of the bouncers. Meg followed close behind. Both of them flashed their passes to the bouncer and went in.

Once inside, it was easy enough to spot their group. Sarah ran over to them laughing. Kirishi and Noodle hugged her while Murdoc rolled his eyes and took another swig of some unknown alcohol. Sandi was no where to be found. When Sarah asked where she was, Kirishi pointed her out on the dance floor. Sarah smiled softly and caught 2-D's black eyes with her own. She went over and plopped down next to him in the booth grinning. Meg slid a glass over to her and Sarah caught it before it slid off of the table to meet its moist and pointy end with the floor. Holding it up to her nose she took a quick sniff of it. Ah, Vodka. Sarah shrugged and took a sip of the clear liquid. She had never been a heavy drinker, but she'd do it on occasion. Kirishi stood by as Noodle begged 2-D if they could go dance together. 2-D laughed, patted Noodle on the head once, reluctantly agreed and the two were off to join Sandi on the dance floor. Meg uprooted herself from the chair next to Murdoc to wander off to a dark corner. Murdoc gave 2-D a look and a growl of a laugh then went off to join Meg. Soon, the two vocalists sat there at the booth drinking silently.

"So," 2-D said breaking the silence, "you like zombie flicks?"

Sarah in mid drink laughed and spit the vodka in her mouth back into the cup. She moved her hand and her head fell forward with a thud, her shoulders quaking with laughter. 2-D placed his hand on the fellow vocalists shoulder.

"You alright there mate?" he asked. He didn't understand what set her off like that. He asked a question was all. Sarah lifted her head up and smiled at 2-D still laughing.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Your question was just out of the blue—No offence. But, yeah, I like zombie flicks," she said. 2-D smiled.

Sarah had to admit, 2-D had a great smile. His two missing front teeth gave his smile charm and character. It was an infectious smile too—Before Sarah knew it, she was grinning.

Abruptly ending the blissful little moment was Sandi slamming her hand down on the table before she sat. The two black eyed oddities stopped to look at her. Through the neon dark and thick waves of music, it was easy to tell that Sandi had had a little bit too much to drink. She looked at them and gave both of them a silly smile.

"Where's Russ at?" She said surprisingly normal, given her present intoxication level. Sarah blinked and realized the she hadn't seen the big guy since she'd left Kong Studios that morning. Where was he? She looked around and couldn't find him anywhere.

"He's still chumming it up with the barkeep. You know how he gets," 2-D said absent-mindedly. He had forgotten the Sandi had only known them for two days but she nodded none-the-less. Sarah smiled. This meant that they were all comfortable with one another. Sandi sat with 2-D and Sarah for a while mostly in silence, sipping her drink ever so carefully. All three though stumbled through small talk finding out little things about one another. Sandi watched 2-D and Sarah with interested eyes. A thought crossed her mind. The two of them getting so close could be dangerous. 'But for who?' she thought. Who would ever know? Who would care? The music started calling to Sandi again and she stood up then returned to the dance floor. Sarah watched her friend go and sighed. Sandi seemed to be having such a good time.

"So, why music?" 2-D asked. Sarah looked at him and asked thousands of questions with her eyes.

"Why music?" he repeated. Sarah stared at him a moment longer. Her eyes then seemed to drift away from him, from the crowds of people, the techno music, even from herself. In her mind all was quiet. Things deep inside of her bubbled to the surface like a witches brew. Memories bubbled to the surface.

"And why Gorillaz?" 2-D inquired, "There's millions of other bands out there. Why music? Why us?"

Sarah looked at him, but still she did not see him. She was chewing over the words and drawing out all the truth within them.

"To express." she began, "To express our feelings. Everyone has the need to express themselves. We do too."

Sarah looked 2-D in the eyes and he was drawn into her world.

"We all needed to express something in us you see. Kirishi speaks three languages, but there are countless others. There are billions of people she can't reach. Kirishi's young, but she wants to reach people. I admire her for that. Meg's a hard ass Satanist who's always pissed. At first glance that's all you see and that's all she'll ever be to you. People don't see, they don't know that there's a soul behind that. Meg wants to open people's minds. Sandi is probably the only one of our little rag-tag group that can reach a broad audience. She's wholesome; normal. Something people don't see about her though is that she's a medium. Like Meg, she too wants to open people's minds. And I… I'm just a misfit. You understand me. After my accident…knowing that my eyes might as well have been hollowed out…loosing the ability to express made me have to. Loosing it only made me want it more. More than breathing I had to express myself. We all come together on that. And why you? Why Gorillaz? You're the only people in the world that are like us. Show me another band in the world where you have a…a Satanist, a medium, a bi-lingual person and a person with the eyes of a dead man. Show me them and I'll bug them for a while," Sarah finished then took a long swig of her vodka.

2-D looked at her in awe. He had never thought about it that way. She was right though, their bands were the same. They were very close to being the same souls in different bodies.

"Well, hey. I wanted to tell your band somefink all together but I think you can take care of it and they'll appreciate it more coming from you," 2-D began. Sarah leaned in close.

"I talked wif a mate of mine, and you have a gig and an opening act set up. You're our opening act. The OA's a week from tomorrow and the gig's in three weeks," He said a smile on his face. Sarah's black eyes were wide. A gig? An OA? Them? Really? She couldn't believe it. On pure instinct, she threw her arms around 2-D's neck and hugged him. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flash of light.

Suddenly, Kirishi and Noodle sat down on either side of them.

"What's up you guys?" Sarah asked setting down her cup.

"Things are getting strange in here, I think we need to go," Kirishi said. Noodle nodded an agreement and stood up and went back out to the dance floor. She returned a moment later with Sandi in tow. Noodle looked around and then went to fetch Russel, whom she returned with only moments later. Meg and Murdoc saw the group gathering and walked over, Murdoc's arm around Meg's waist.

"What's all the ruckus about?" He asked. Kirishi looked to him.

"Things are just getting wierd, people are starting to notice who we are, and I think we should leave before things get crazy. Noodle and I think we saw some paparazzi too" She explained. The bands both nodded and stood up, exiting in pairs. When 2-D and Sarah walked out, they thought they saw another flash of light, but they wrote it off as a strobe light.

The bands were walking down the sidewalk, laughing and having a good time in the jolly old streets of London. The treck to Sussex was long, and dangerous, but together they'd be fine. Sarah jumped on a lamp pole and spun around, the entire group laughing. Kirishi giggled and stuck her hands into her pockets. Suddenly, a wave of shock came over Kirishi's face.

"Oh no," she said quietly. Sarah had just completed another spin on the pole and saw Kirishi immediatly. She hopped off of the pole and walked over to the shorter girl.

"You alright?" Sarah asked. Kirishi shook her head.

"I've lost my picture of Yuji!" She exclaimed looking up to Sarah with terror in her eyes. Sarah sighed and started back for the nightclub, Kirishi quickly in tow.

"Where the Hell are you going?" Murdoc called.

"To find Yuji's picture," Sarah said not even turning around. Murdoc rolled his eyes.

"Just get him to send you another one," he said. Kirishi turned around, her eyes shooting daggers at Murdoc. 2-D looked from Murdoc to Kirishi, and he and Noodle walked towards Sarah.

"We'll help you!" Noodle said cheerfully, taking Kirishi's hands in her own. Sandi also walked over and patted Kirishi on the head.

"I'll go back to Kong and make sure you didn't leave it there," Meg said. Russel shot glanced at Meg cautiously. No doubt Murdoc was going there too...

"I'll go help," He said. Kirishi smiled at Russel, she knew she could trust him.

"Thanks you guys," she said smiling.

"S'what friends are for," 2-D said. Sarah smiled and 2-D looked at her, he was smiling too.

"I'll go check the desks and bar and see if anyone turned it in, Kirishi, Noodle, you guys go to where you were dancing, Sarah, 2-D, you go check where we were sitting. And break!" Sandi yelled over the music. The groups broke off in their different sections and went to look. Sarah and 2-D walked over to the table, a couple of guys were sitting there now. Sarah grimmaced and looked around without getting in their way.

"Yew lookin' fuh somefink?" one of them slurred. Sarah ignored them and kept looking.

"Ah wuz tawlking to yew!" He screamed.

"And I was ignoring you, now leave me alone so I can check to see if one of my friends dropped something here," Sarah said coldly. The guy grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Well maybe if yew dew mee a li'le fayvor Ah kin tell yew if Ah've seen it," He slurred. his breath went right in Sarah's face. It was hot, and smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Oi! Get off her," 2-D yelled, walking over.

"Woi? Wot'uh yew gonna dew abou' it? An' wot's she tuh yew innyways?" The guy yelled. 2-D smiled and grabbed Sarah's wrist, pulling her up. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"She's my girl and I'll kick your ass if you ever touch her again," 2-D said smiling and pushing up the brim of his hat with his thumb so these rejects could see who he was. Their faces were a mix of shock and horror, and Sarah could've sworn she'd seen another flash go off.

"You sure you've seen nothing?" Sandi asked the bartender.

"No one's turned in a picture and I ain't seen one," he said cleaning out the inside of a glass. Sandi gave a little pout and walked over to the dance floor. All of a sudden she heard from inside the dance floor somewhere, "GOT IT!"

She smiled and ran through the dancers to find Noodle handing Kirishi the picture. Kirishi's face lit up and she looked like she was about to hug the picture.

"Thanks Noodle!" She yelled over the music. Noodle smiled and noticed Sandi.

"Let's go tell 2-D and Sarah so we can get out of here," Noodle said.

The moment 2-D heard Noodle shout he turned to Sarah.

"Well, I think our work here is done. Let's go Luvey," He said, turning and leading Sarah away from the table.

"Don't worry about all that. I couldn't think of anything else to get them to let you go," 2-D explained, taking his arm from around Sarah moments before the other girls showed up. Kirishi was smiling victoriously and showed 2-D that she had found the picture. Soon, the group left and were on their way to kong studio again.

Hours later, they were all sitting in the lobby, playing mah-jong and laughing it up. Sarah threw a glance towards the clock on the wall.

"I didn't notice how late it was," She said sadly. the walk back to her home seemed like it would take an eternity. 2-D stood up.

"You lot can stay here tonight," 2-D said walking over to the lift.

"It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up it's there..." 2-D's voice played over the speaker by the lift. He grinned sheepishly and walked in, holding the door open for the all-girl band. Only three of them came; Meg stayed by Murdoc's side.

Soon, it was only Sarah that needed a room. 2-D stopped in front of an unmarked door and opened it. The room inside was handsomly furnished with a warm-looking, inviting bed.

"Thanks mate," Sarah said walking in. She turned around and held the door in her hand.

"Goodnight," 2-D said smiling.

"Sweet dreams," Sarah replied, then shut the door. She leaned on it for a while, her excitement growing. They had dates. Just Are had dates. Show dates!-- and tomorrow she'd get to tell everyone. She ran over to the bed and leaped onto it, a smile plastered to her face. She didn't even bother undressing and just crawled into the bed, covering herself up and dreaming of the morning.


End file.
